A conservative operative trumpeting his close ties to the National Rifle Association and Russia told a Trump campaign adviser last year that he could arrange a back-channel meeting between Donald J. Trump and Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president, according to an email sent to the Trump campaign.nytimes.com(See also Trump Relationship with Russia, Russian Meddling in Election)

Dan Scavino, the White House social media director, expressed interest in learning more, and Donald Trump Jr. forwarded a pitch about the concept to Scavino.

2017.12.11

Despite the deaths of as many as half a million people in the Syrian civil war, the Trump Administration is now prepared to accept President Bashar al-Assad’s continued rule until Syria’s next scheduled Presidential election, in 2021, reversingrepeated U.S. statements that Assad must step down as part of a peace process.newyorker.com(See also Syria, Reversals, Foreign Policy, Rex Tillerson, Iran)

The Trump administration has waived part of the punishment for five megabanks whose affiliates were convicted and fined for manipulating global interest rates, one of which is Deutsche Bank — which is owed at least $130 million by President Donald Trump and his business empire, and has also been fined for its role in a Russian money laundering scheme.ibtimes.com(See also Conflicts of Interest, Economy, Assaults on Government, Corruption)

Donald Trump stood with the Norwegian Prime Minister and announced that the U.S-made F-52s fighter aircraft was delivered to Norway, but the “F-52” is a fictional jet only available to fly if you’re a gamer at the controls of “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfarewashingtonpost.com(See also False Statements, Foreign Policy)

Mike Pompeo said there had been no significant diminishing of Russian attempts at subversion in Europe and the US, and that the director of the CIA expects that Russia will target the US mid-term elections later this year.bbc.com(See also Russian Meddling in Election, Mike Pompeo)

2018.01.29

The Trump administration informed lawmakers that new Russia sanctions called for in a bipartisan bill passed last year are not necessary yet because the measure is already "serving as a deterrent," despite the fact that lawmakers in both parties nudged the administration to implement sanctions legislation that passed overwhelmingly in July — with only five no votes in both the House and Senate.politico.com(See also Trump Relationship with Russia, Unprecedented Actions, 2016 Campaign)

K.T. McFarland, picked by Donald Trump to be the U.S. ambassador to Singapore, withdrew from consideration for the job on Friday after her nomination became stalled in the U.S. Senate, due to concerns about her testimony to Congress over communications with Russia.reuters.com(See also Resignations and Dismissals, False Statements)